Part of Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 10:00 am ar 22 Tachwedd 2007.
David Heath
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
10:00,
22 Tachwedd 2007
The hon. and learned Gentleman is absolutely correct. What we are talking about is clearly not a request but a direction. It is framed in such a way that it can be interpreted only as a direction. There may be circumstances in which it is appropriate for the Secretary of State to direct, although given the independence that we have sought to achieve for the commissioner, I imagine that it would be better if it were a request. What I am not prepared to accept is subsection (10), which in effect allows the Secretary of State to limit the scope of an investigation, having requested/directed that that investigation should take place.
The subsection gives the commissioner discretion to determine the scope and the procedure, but qualifies that by saying:
“Subject to any directions given to the Commissioner by the Secretary of State”.
It cannot be right for the Secretary of State, who in this instance will be the person who is politically responsible for the department under investigation, to limit the scope of an independent investigator conducting an investigation into incidents that may have happened within the premises run by that service. It is absolutely wrong that that should be the case. I think—I hope—that it is inadvertent. If it is not, the Minister must explain why she feels that the Secretary of State should have the power to limit the scope and direct the procedure adopted by this independent commissioner in the pursuit of his or her duties. That cannot be right.
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Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
